RACE INFORMATION

Keselowski wins at Watkins Glen: #22-Brad Keselowski won the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. It is his 4th win of the season and the 24th of his Nationwide career. #12-Sam Hornish, Jr. finished second followed by #20-Brian Vickers, #7-Regan Smith, #11-Elliott Sadler, #77-Parker Kligerman, #31-Justin Allgaier, #44-Cole Whitt, #30-Nelson Piquet, Jr., and #6-Trevor Bayne. Points leader #3-Austin Dillon finished 12th. There were 5 cautions for 15 laps and 7 lead changes among 6 leaders. Complete results are on the Watkins Glen race results page (pdf).(8-10-2013)

Watkins Glen Race Fast Facts:
Brad Keselowski(i) won the 19th Annual Zippo 200 at The Glen, his 24th victory in 199 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his fourth victory and sixth top-10 finish in 2013.
This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in five races at Watkins Glen International.
This is his fourth straight win in four consecutive starts. Ryan Newman (2005), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2002-2004) and Mark Martin (1993) had five straight wins in five consecutive starts.
Sam Hornish Jr. (second) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Watkins Glen International. It is his 16th top-10 finish in 2013.
Brian Vickers (third) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Watkins Glen International.
Nelson Piquet Jr. (ninth) was the highest finishing rookie.
Austin Dillon leads the point standings by 3 points over Sam Hornish Jr.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-10-2013)

Hornish, Jr. on pole at Watkins Glen: #12-Sam Hornish, Jr. won the Coors Light Pole for the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International with a track record speed of 123.291mph.#54-Kyle Busch will start second. The rest of the top 10: #48-Joey Logano, #7-Regan Smith, #22-Brad Keselowski, #31-Justin Allgaier, #30-Nelson Piquet, Jr., #20-Brian Vickers, #77-Parker Kligerman, and #2-Brain Scott. Did Not Qualify: none. The starting lineup is posted on the Watkins Glen starting lineup page (pdf).(8-10-2013)

Watkins Glen Qualifying Notes:
Sam Hornish Jr. won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 19th Annual Zippo 200 at The Glen with a lap of 71.538 seconds, 123.291 mph.
His qualifying lap broke the old track record of 123.241 mph set by Kurt Busch in August 2011.
This is his third pole in 87 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his second pole and 17th top-10 start in 2013.
This is his second pole in three races at Watkins Glen International.
Kyle Busch(i) (second) posted his 12th top-10 start of 2013 and his sixth in seven races at Watkins Glen International.
Joey Logano(i) (third) posted his fifth top-10 start at Watkins Glen International. It is his sixth in ten races this season.
Nelson Piquet Jr. (seventh) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Integrated Marketing)(8-10-2013)

Hornish fastest in practice: #12-Sam Hornish was fastest during the only practice at Watkins Glen International with a speed of 122.485mph. #22-Brad Keselowski was second, followed by: #7-Regan Smith, #54-Kyle Busch, #48-Joey Logano, #5-Kasey Kahne, #2-Brian Scott, #77-Parker Kligerman, #31-Justin Allgaier, and #20-Brian Vickers. 38 drivers got a full lap in during the session. See complete results on the Watkins Glen practice 1 speeds page (pdf).(8-9-2013)

Entry List:There are 39 cars on the preliminary entry list for Saturday's Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. A few notes:
Anthony Gandon will drive the #23 for Rick Ware;
Derek White returns to the #24 for SR2;
Brendan Gaughan will be in the RCR #33;
Joey Logano will drive the Penske #48;
Andrew Ranger returns in the #52;
Kevin O'Connell will be in the #74 for Mike Harmon;
Kenny Habul will be in his #75;
Bryan Silas will drive the Go Green #79;
Kyle Kelley returns to the NEMCO #87.(8-5-2013)UPDATE: #52-Joey Gase and #89-Morgan Shepherd have been added to the entry list.(8-7-2013)UPDATE: Carl Long will drive the #74 in place of Kevin O'Connell.(8-9-2013)UPDATE: #92-Dexter Stacey has withdrawn. There are 40 teams at the track.(8-10-2013)
See the complete list on the Watkins Glen entry list page.

Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series at Watkins Glen: The NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will go road course racing this weekend at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. ESPN will have a live telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race on Sunday, Aug. 11, with NASCAR Countdown at noon and the races green flag at 1:18 p.m. ET. The NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday, Aug. 10, airs on ABC at 2 p.m. with the green at 2:34 p.m. ESPN2 also will air qualifying sessions for both series on Saturday beginning with Nationwide qualifying at 9:30 a.m. All NASCAR programming on ESPN and ESPN2 is also available on computers, smartphones and tablets through WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app. The Watkins Glen schedule:(ESPN)(8-5-2013)

Goodyear Tires Notes / Fast Facts

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Road Course Radials

Number of Tires: Sprint Cup: 1,900; Nationwide: 1,100

Set limits:
Sprint Cup: 5 sets for practice/qualifying and 6 sets for the race;
Nationwide: 7 sets for the event

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same Goodyear tire code (D-4590) on all four tire positions at Watkins Glen . . . this is the first time these teams have run this code at The Glen, though they have run it earlier this season . . . Sprint Cup teams ran this tire on all four tire positions at Sonoma and on the right-side at Martinsville . . . Nationwide teams also ran this tire on all four positions at Road America . . . compared to what was run at The Glen last season, this tire features a slight compound change and a reduction in gage (tread thickness) . . . as on all NASCAR road courses, teams will not run inner liners in their tires at Watkins Glen.

Wet Weather Tires: Goodyear will also bring 700 wet weather radials (D-4215) to Watkins Glen for use by Nationwide Series teams only, should NASCAR decide that conditions warrant.

NASCAR News & Notes

Smith Returns Home In Hopes Of Regaining The Lead
Over the last seven races, Regan Smith of Cato, N.Y., has compiled 189 points in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship standings. On the surface that might seem like a healthy amount of points.
After analyzing the stats of his fellow top-10 drivers over the same time period, however, a different picture is painted.
Smiths points tally of 189 ranks last among all drivers currently in the top 10, indicative of the slide he has taken during that time. Granted he is currently tied with Sam Hornish Jr. for second, 14 markers behind Austin Dillon, and led the standings for 10 consecutive weeks (Talladega through New Hampshire). It was only eight races ago, however, when Smith finished first at Michigan and left the Wolverine State with a 58-point advantage in the standings.
Dillon has led all drivers in the top 10 with 270 points collected over the last seven races, followed by Elliott Sadler (255), Brian Vickers (249), Kyle Larson (248) and Hornish (247). Brian Scott (226), Trevor Bayne (220), Justin Allgaier (212), Parker Kligerman (212) and Smith round out the top 10.
With the series heading to New York for Saturdays Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen, Smith hopes hell be able to reclaim his spot atop the standings in front of a hometown crowd. In six national series start at The Glen, Smith has one top-10 finish, which was a ninth-place performance in last years NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. In two NASCAR Nationwide starts at the 2.45-mile road course, Smith has finishes of 19th and 23rd. He struggled in the first road-course event of the season at Road America, where he finished 32nd.
Dillon, who took over the points lead from Hornish two races ago at Indy, is seeking advice from teammate and road-racing specialist Max Papis to ensure that Watkins Glen doesnt present any hiccoughs. Dillons only series start at The Glen resulted in a 23rd-place finish. Earlier this season at Road America, he finished 10th.

Hornishs Upper Hand: Road Course Experience
With the series headed to Watkins Glen for the Zippo 200, Sam Hornish Jr., who has previous road-course experience from his time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and IndyCar Series, could use this Saturday as an opportunity to capitalize on that resume, which several of his closest rivals lack.
In six trips to road courses with the NASCAR Nationwide Series, he has finished in the top five in the most recent four. Earlier this season, he finished fifth in the first road-course event of the season at Road America. He posted top-five finishes in all three races on road courses last year, finishing third in The Glen race. In addition, he had a runner-up performance at Montreal and a fifth-place showing at Road America.
He competed seven times at road courses in the NSCS, scoring a fifth and a 14th in his last two events, which were both at The Glen. His 11 career road-course starts in the IndyCar Series were highlighted by a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen in 2007.
Although Hornish has only one win (Las Vegas) to his credit this season, he has collected a series-high four runner-up finishes among points-eligible competitors that have him tied with Regan Smith for second in the standings.
In all four races that he placed second, Hornish finished behind NSCS regulars, thus earning him the most championship points among NNS drivers in three of the events, and tying him with two other drivers for the most points earned in the fourth.

Round Two: Watkins Glen Is The Second Of Three Road Courses
With about a month and a half to prepare since the first road race of the season at Road America, the NASCAR Nationwide Series head to Watkins Glen for the Zippo 200 and the second of three road-course events during the 2013 season.
Instead of having to wait 49 days to apply what they learned during the last road-course event, teams will now be able to take what they learn this Saturday at The Glen and immediately apply it next Saturday in the inaugural trip to Mid-Ohio for the Nationwide Childrens Hospital 200.
With only one driver in the top 10 who has even won on a road course in the series Justin Allgaier (Montreal 2012) it is likely that the next two races will shake up the standings.
The NNS is NASCARs only national series that visits three road courses during the season. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits two, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to just one.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Etc.
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series driver Anthony Gandon of Bayonne, France, will attempt to make his first national series start this Saturday behind the wheel of the No. 23 Rick Ware Racing Ford.
In eight starts this season in Europe, Gandon has six top-10 finishes. Hes the first NASCAR national series driver from France since Claude Ballot-Lena ran in NSCS in 1979. & Alex Bowman, Parker Kligerman, Kyle Larson, Kevin OConnell, Travis Pastrana, Bryan Silas and Derek White will all be making their series Watkins Glen debut this weekend.